


The Light in the Shadows

by hipsterminseok



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - MAMA (Music Video), Alternate Universe - Magic, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No one from Ot9 though, Second Chances, This sounds really dark and awful but I promise there are also soft and sweet moments, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 05:23:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12183714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hipsterminseok/pseuds/hipsterminseok
Summary: Retired from special forces unit EXO, Park Chanyeol spends his days educating the refugees that long since fled his war-torn home planet. Five years after the death of his partner, and the day Chanyeol lost the very last of his innocence, his enigmatic ex-boyfriend returns to his side pleading for him to rejoin their dying cause.Desperately chasing after any smidgeon of a chance to save their abducted brother, Chanyeol finds himself once again involved in the war he swore to never rejoin; and by the side of the very man Chanyeol swore upon the death of his brother to never forgive.Fic Trailer





	The Light in the Shadows

Retirement suited Park Chanyeol like the sheath to the blade he once used to slaughter many a foe. It was slightly ill-fitting, too much slack in some areas and too close for comfort in others, but it ultimately performed its job with little struggle. Retirement was comfortable, predictable, quiet. Things he never knew in his life on the force. 

Before retirement, Chanyeol spent countless sleepless nights battling the legions of the Red Forces alongside his closest companions. Together, Chanyeol and his eleven companions composed EXO: an elite unit created specifically to combat the Red Forces and restore balance to humanity. 

Unfortunately, not even their blessed orbs of power could protect them from the relentless destruction of the Red Forces. Yifan, Chanyeol's partner that possessed the unique power of flight, was the first to fall in their fight against evil. In that moment Chanyeol first understood what it must feel like to be Zitao; to have time stop before your very eyes and yet have no ability to prevent to demise of those held closest to you.

The night of Yifan's death brought about a darkness upon Chanyeol's heart. His friend, his brother, his partner in crime... all extinguished within the blink of an eye. The inferno within his soul raged, sending out vast streams of fire in all directions as if to dare any dark forces to attempt and touch the corpse of his fallen friend. In Chanyeol's anguish he accidentally incinerated the remains of Yifan's body, leaving only a pair a dog tags behind as a token of his memory. Chanyeol wore them against his chest alongside his own, willingly bearing the marks of a man codenamed 'Kris'.

As the war raged on and man after man fell to machine, Chanyeol's hardened heart began to realize the signs of a war that could not be won. Everywhere he looked, destruction and death reared their ugly heads. Everything he touched met its own demise. And even Byun Baekhyun, a man Chanyeol once loved as dearly as he possibly could, was of no exception.

Lu Han's death shouldn't have occurred in the first place. He was supposed to be at the flank of their position, using his telekinetic ability to attack from a distance and stay far from harm's way. But Baekhyun, over-eager and ever-so-naive Baekhyun, had a dreaded penance for trouble. When Baekhyun nearly lost his life to a frightful machine, Lu Han had been the one to step in. Lu Han had been the one to take his place. And so Lu Han fell, just as Yifan, just as everyone else slowly would one by one.

The fire in Chanyeol's heart slowly snuffed out, leaving behind only a mildly smoking ash. Lu Han's tags were collected too, a growing collection upon Chanyeol's chain, bearing the singular codename: 'Luhan'. The tears Chanyeol wept for Yifan ran dry by the time Lu Han's tags were slipped around Chanyeol's neck. So cold had he become that he didn't even emote at the sight of their beloved brother-in-arms, Zitao, as he grew cold among the wreckage of both droids and men. Before Chanyeol left his remaining brothers behind and disappeared into a hidden retirement, he took one final token of his fallen comrades along with him: another pair of tags, these ones engraved with a simple 'Tao'.

The powers of the Red Forces seemed to overcome humanity, and EXO were as good as dead. Chanyeol fell into the ranks of the other retired militia members, planning to forever spend their days in the monotony of an average lifestyle and hide in plain sight until the day of their own demise. And so Park Chanyeol, sole possessor of the orb of fire and sole user of its abilities therein, became one of the fold. Disappearing into the nothingness between realms of forgotten souls.

Years slowly blended together in a continuous stream. A single year as a librarian, as a record-keeper, turned into two and then three until five long years had come and go in Chanyeol’s retirement. His role as a librarian within the primary refugee camp appeared a bit extraneous at times, especially seeing as so many were lacking in basic needs. Feeding the mind, Chanyeol insisted, was just as important as feeding the body. 

Perhaps such a distraction from the plague of war was exactly what the people were looking for. Children and adults alike flocked through Chanyeol's wares day after day, indulging in story after story to rest their weary souls and temporarily ignore the bleakness of reality. Though Chanyeol typically closed up much earlier, he found himself keeping the library open until far past sundown as he spotted two teenagers lost in faraway tales, lanterns flickering as they concentrated on the lettering before them.

“Alright guys, it's getting late. Your parents will want to have you back soon.” Chanyeol's request was met with a chorus of groans and whines to stay for just a little while longer, but Chanyeol merely grinned at their insistence. He corralled the unwilling youngsters, leading them out of the library and onto the main road. 

“Stay safe. Don't go wandering off!” He called out after them, grinning at the pointed looks of annoyance shot his way. To be a teenager able to read at his own leisure; it was a life Chanyeol had longed for at that age. His own teen years had instead been filled with the combat and weapons training that each and every able-bodied citizen of his time was required of them. 

Chanyeol's childhood memories danced in the forefront of his mind for the entirety of his locking up and traveling home. His consciousness was so consumed, in fact, that he didn’t register the figure following him for the last three blocks until Chanyeol had one hand wrapped around the stranger’s throat and the other covering the stranger’s mouth.

Chanyeol blinked. His instincts had proved to once again get the better of him, but at least this time hadn’t been on a curious twenty-something in search of some library books. Chanyeol backed his assailant against the wooden exterior of his small home. In a singular swift motion, Chanyeol removed his hand from the stranger’s mouth and ripped his black hood from shadowing his face in the darkness.

A jolt of electricity and nausea flooded Chanyeol as he looked directly into the eye of his assailant and saw the very last man in the universe he ever wished to see again. “Baekhyun…” The whisper escaped Chanyeol’s lips and ascended into the night sky. 

Five years. Five long years he’d gone without a word from his former lover, without an attempt to save what was once the light of Chanyeol’s life. Baekhyun coughed, inciting Chanyeol to jerkily drop his hand from the other man’s throat. Baekhyun doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath. Once he steadied to a simple rhythm, Baekhyun looked upon Chanyeol with a wink and a mischievous grin stretching across his cheek. “I’m back, Chanyeollie.”

A great sigh of both relief and disdain dropped the tension in Chanyeol’s shoulders. He turned to his door, busying himself with a series of locks far too intricate for the lack of valuables that lay within. 

Byun Baekhyun passed through the barrier of Chanyeol's doorway just as he once marched through the barriers of Chanyeol's heart. Five years had aged them both far more than either would like to admit, with ever-apparent dark circles and the beginnings of creases attempting to form around their eyes. Baekhyun stood just as proudly as he ever had despite his lack of height to back up his overflowing aura. 

Chanyeol followed his former lover inside, furiously rubbing away at his temples. “What are you doing here, Byun?”

Baekhyun visibly bristled at being addressed so distantly, but immediately shook it off and replaced it with his ever-mischievous grin. “I'm doing many things, Yeol. Breathing for one, conversing with you for another, and-”

Chanyeol nearly growled in irritation as a spark flashed in his eyes. “What's your purpose of coming here? Who told you how to find me?”

Baekhyun smirked, observing Chanyeol in a manner that made him feel rather… exposed. Naked. As transparent as ever in the eyes of a certain Byun Baekhyun. Baekhyun tiptoed across Chanyeol's cabin, eyeing various knicknacks and the like.

“Yixing told me. Said he found you a while back.” Baekhyun picked up a small smooth stone, gently holding it in his hand and running his fingers along the grooves of the engraving therein. “Said you didn't want to be found out…”

Baekhyun trailed off, clipping off an insinuated ‘by me’. It needn’t be said for both parties to understand the true depth of the heaviness between them. After a moment's pause to gather his thoughts, an action he rarely ever executed, Baekhyun continued.

“I thought you would come back, you know. I told them… I told them all you just needed space.” He chuckled softly, the sound muffled with an overlying tinge of melancholy. “I was wrong, of course. Naive as always, huh? Silly old Byun, always off believing in fairy tales… believing that his Chanyeol would always come back to him.”

The dark circles around Baekhyun’s eyes grew to envelop his entire being, effectively shutting out any attempts of comfort Chanyeol could give. Not that Chanyeol put forth an attempt. That was no longer his area of expertise, after all. Five long years separated their last encounter alone, not to mention their last moments as lovers and as friends.

Chanyeol released a lengthy sigh. “Baekhyun...” A sigh escaped his chest once more. “It doesn't matter, anymore.” He paused. “But why now? Why come find me after all these years? What changed?”

Baekhyun lifted his gaze to match Chanyeol's, keeping a pleasant tempo of silence for a few moments before answering. “Yixing did.” Baekhyun fiddled with the knickknacks some more, welcoming the minor distraction. “I said he told me where this place was, and it's true, but that was a long time ago. I didn't think I'd ever come. I didn't really want to, you know? But… everything's changed.”

Waves of worry crashed in Baekhyun’s eyes as his internal darkness threatened to snuff out what remained of the light therein. “Yixing… he's missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This is the beginning of a long journey, friends. I’ll be updating about once a month until November when I have more free time for writing.
> 
> As always, hmu on Tumblr or Twitter at hipsterminseok if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
> 
> Please subscribe, kudos, and comment below! Thanks. :)
> 
> Much love,  
> S | hipsterminseok  
> P.S.: If you liked this work and would like to support further works, feel free to [buy me a coffee.](https://ko-fi.com/hipsterminseok) x

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is the beginning of a long journey, friends. I’ll be updating about once a month until November when I have more free time for writing.
> 
> As always, hmu on Tumblr or Twitter at hipsterminseok if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
> 
> Please subscribe, kudos, and comment below! Thanks. :)
> 
> Much love,  
> S | hipsterminseok  
> xx


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